Last updated: 14/05/08
Loughborough swimmers have month to remember

Those responsible for denying Loughborough the chance to accommodate Great Britain’s Olympic hopefuls for the London Games in 2012 may well have had an eye on a select bunch of swimmers from the Midlands club plying their trade over the last few weeks.

Loughborough’s swimmers put on a stellar show in April, competing at the specially erected pool of the MEN Arena, Manchester, and the Sport England-funded base of Ponds Forge, Sheffield.

The representing athletes sealed GB Olympic qualification in the British Championships at the latter location at the beginning of the month and then competed on the international stage at the World Championships in Manchester less than a week later.

Less than 100 days remain until the opening ceremony, and Loughborough’s swimmers more than excelled themselves in their efforts to be flying the GB flag at the Beijing Olympics.

It says something of the standard of performance that 28 year-old former Loughborough student and Queen-honoured athlete James Gibson MBE will not add to his Olympic appearances this year after failing to qualify with a third-place finish in the 100m Breaststroke final in Sheffield - an event he claimed silver in at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. With 37 year-old Mark Foster on the road to Beijing, it’s not a question of age.

Former BBC East Midlands Sportswoman of the Year, 22 year-old Caitlin McClatchey, laid down a statement of intent in the build-up for Beijing with a new British Record in the 100m Freestyle. Double Commonwealth gold medallist McClatchey stated, “Today was just about making sure I qualified, I knew it was going to be a tough race as everyone is swimming so well.”

In the men’s events, 2006 Commonwealth Silver winner Euan Dale set a lifetime best and club record in the 400m Individual Medley, while Olympic bronze and Commonwealth gold medallist and European record-holder David Davies, set a new Welsh record set in the 400m Freestyle heats before he withdrew to concentrate on his Olympic event, the 1500m Freestyle.

Yet all the plaudits must be reserved for Liam Tancock (pictured). Having attained a much-coveted place on the team, Tancock arrived unburdened and produced an astonishing swim. Tancock set a new World record in the 50m Backstroke, smashing the previous best by almost half a second with a time of 24.47 seconds.

The School of Sport and Exercise Sciences student from Exeter had earlier swapped Commonwealth records with club team-mate James Goddard in the 200m Individual Medley, eventually taking a silver medal in the final, but no one could deny the West-countryman his elevated status at the World Championships just days later. Twelve of GB’s 24 medals were won by Loughborough swimmers and four of those were hoarded by Tancock.

“When I came here I would have been happy with one medal. To get four is unbelievable and I’ve had a great time” said Tancock, whose World Record is the first in the pool by a Briton since 2002.

McClatchey also matched the feat of four medals at the Short Course in Manchester. Loughborough’s memorable April has helped to ensure that 11 of the 37 swimmers representing GB in August will be from Loughborough, five of those current students.

by Ore Oduba